May 20th 2024.
The city of Bhubaneswar is abuzz with activity as polling for five Lok Sabha constituencies and 35 Assembly seats in Odisha is underway on this Monday. Tight security measures have been put in place to ensure a smooth and peaceful voting process, according to officials.
The voting began at 7am in five parliamentary constituencies - Aska, Kandhamal, Bargarh, Bolangir, and Sundargarh - along with 35 assembly segments under their jurisdiction. A total of 9,162 polling stations have been set up for over 79.69 lakh eligible voters, including 40.33 lakh men, 39.35 lakh women, and 851 transgender persons.
Among the many candidates vying for victory, the spotlight is on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and around six Odisha ministers. Also in the running are current BJP MPs Jual Oram and Sangeeta Singh Deo, BJD MP Achyuta Samanta, and former Indian Hockey captain Dilip Tirkey.
It is noteworthy that both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha. As of 11am, the voter turnout was recorded at around 21%, according to officials. Thankfully, there have been no reports of any untoward incidents or disturbances at any polling booths, as confirmed by the police.
Chief Electoral Officer NB Dhal expressed satisfaction with the peaceful conduct of the polling so far, stating that there have been no reports of any issues or incidents. As of 11am, approximately 21.07% of the eligible voters have cast their votes.
Earlier, as of 9am, the voter turnout was recorded at 6.99%, with a total of over 79.69 lakh voters exercising their franchise. There were some initial glitches reported with the electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency, but they were promptly addressed and fixed by officials.
CEO Dhal also shared that 70 ballot units, 89 control units, and 167 voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines were replaced due to technical issues. These defects were identified during the mock poll before the actual voting began and were quickly resolved within 30 minutes.
In a separate incident, a woman polling official fainted while on duty at a booth under the Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat. However, she was quickly attended to and is reported to be doing well now. As the day progresses, Odisha eagerly awaits the final results of this important phase of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
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